


Dreams & Premonitions

by Orcalalot



Series: Neon Genesis Evangelion: Dreams & Premonitions [1]
Category: Neon Genesis Evangelion
Genre: F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-12
Updated: 2020-12-12
Packaged: 2021-03-09 21:41:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,613
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27983238
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Orcalalot/pseuds/Orcalalot
Summary: Teenager Shinji Ikari begins to have realistic, almost premonition-like dreams. Whether these dreams are truly warning him about events that have yet to happen is not clear. Neither is who is giving him these dreams. Will these dreams help Shinji or leave him and his friends astray?
Series: Neon Genesis Evangelion: Dreams & Premonitions [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2054112
Kudos: 1





	1. Copper & Coincidence

Chapter 1: Copper & Coincidence

* * *

Waves of water crashed down on a glistening white seashore; the water, a bright blue color. The wind blew softly across the land, making palm trees dance around and mist from the sea fly onto the shore. Cries of seagulls could be in heard the distance, their squawk so distinct. On the seashore, Shinji Ikari laid, sleeping. His eyes squinted open to a bright sun and a powdery blue sky. He stared at the sky, confused as to how he even got there.

Shinji stood up. ' _Where am I?'_ he asked himself, as he looked all around him. The peaceful setting felt warm and calming to Shinji as he let the atmosphere consume him. ' _This is nice, really...'_ he said to himself. This was much different from Tokyo-03. No Angels, no NERV, no Eva's… just the soothing sounds of the ocean.

_'Seriously though… where am I? Where's Misato? Or anyone for that matter?'_. He took a deep breath. His nose began to sting from the potent and familiar smell of... copper. ' _Where's that smell coming from?'_. He began to look around, walking up and down the beach. Trying to pinpoint where the smell was coming from. The scent grew stronger the further he looked. He was close; he was sure of it. A few meters away, he saw what looked like two gargantuan statues toppled on top of each other. Shinji slowly approached the figures. They grew in size as he moved closer. Until finally, he was directly under them.

The two figures looked decayed, like mummies almost. One of the statues was easily recognizable to him. The horn gave it away. It was Eva-01, a discolored, beaten, and scarred version of it. The decayed Eva stood tall with its arm raised and it's hand in a clenched fist. Under Eva-01 was an unrecognizable, decayed Eva. Its head was small; Its mouth was gaping. The whole scene was unsettling to him. Something was wrong. The smell of copper was now at its most potent state.

Shinji became curious and approached the back of the unknown EVA. An entry plug should have been somewhere nearby. Much to his surprise, however, there was no entry plug, only an odd white paste-like substance in its place. _'The pilot must have ejected, wonder who it is.'_

He continued searching around the two Eva's; moments later, he found the entry plug and was… disturbed by what he'd seen. It was crushed. Pieces of it were scattered all over the place, and it was covered in blood and residual LCL. Shinji hesitantly approached the destroyed entry plug. There was writing on it that said '03' in bold lettering. He entered the mangled entry plug and caught something odd out of the corner of his eye. He turned his attention to see what it was. His curiosity turned into an intense panic in a fraction of a second. In the pilot seat was a torn and bloodied black and white jersey and a familiar one at that.

Shinji grabbed and observed the jersey, _'T-This is… Touji's!'_ his hands trembled, _'Oh my… d-don't tell me... h-he was… No-no-no. He couldn't have, he's not a pilot!'_ denial was getting the better of him. The air around him started to feel heavy. He was running out of breath fast. A rhythmic ding played in his head. Calls from the seagulls and the crashes of the tide started to intensify in his ears. Ding-ding-ding-ding-ding. That was all he could hear. 

He turned away from the entry plug and gave an agonizing look at Eva-01. He could feel his sanity fading rapidly. The ding's deafening volume felt like it was consuming Shinji. He couldn't take it any longer; his knees began to buckle as he let out a long and hysterical cry to the heavens. Shinji's cries died as he went unconscious and fell onto the sand while the calls of the seagulls and waves kept their roaring volume.

* * *

Shinji gasped as he woke back up; instead of there being a blue sky and bright sun, there was a simple gray ceiling and a fan. He looked around him; there was no white sandy beach or watery seascape, just a small closet of a room with a single shelf and dresser. He turned to his side and checked his alarm clock. It read '4:50' on it. Shinji then sat up and let out a sigh of relief.

"...Guess it was just a dream," he whispered. Shinji then emerged from his bedroom. Much like his room, everything was completely normal, not a single grain of sand or drop of water in sight. To fully reassure himself; he wasn't insane, he opened up the balcony door and looked out to the horizon. The ever-active city of Tokyo-03 was still there, thankfully. 

He sat down on the balcony seat, attempting to enjoy the view, and proceeded to look out into the city view.

The early morning breeze was peaceful to him, much like in his dream. Usually, Shinji wouldn't have stayed up this early and would have at least tried to get back to sleep. Today, however, would thankfully be the last Monday of the school year for him and his friends. The mere thought of not having to wake up extra early in the morning or not having to slave over the large and tedious amount of homework he received each day made Shinji excited, a rare feeling for him. However, it felt well deserved, especially after what happened two weeks earlier, what with his and his fellow pilot Asuka's fight against the seventh angel, designated: Israfel. That week would forever be cemented into his memory, the day he and Unit-02's fiery, passionate pilot killed an Angel with... a dance routine. It made him chuckle at the pure thought of it, killing a large, world-ending alien… by dancing.

The balcony door suddenly slid open. A fiery redhead peered out from the door, with her arms crossed and an exasperated yet tired look in her eyes. _'Speak of the devil.'_ Shinji thought, amused. It was Asuka Langley Soryu, his roommate and fellow pilot.

"You woke me up, third…" she said. "so you better have a damn good reason for it..." her left eye twitched as she spoke in a sleepy tone.

"And if I don't?" asked Shinji in a snarky tone, also rare for him.

"...if you don't, I'll… I'll…" Asuka tried to think quickly, "...I'll throw you off the balcony and watch as you fall seven stories below." she said sadistically. "So start talking, idiot!"

Shinji rubbed his temples. "I came out here to make sure I was still in reality, you know?." said Shinji, hesitant to explain the details of the dream. Asuka doubted what he said and inched closer to him, looking ready to throw him clean off the balcony. However, she stopped half-way and sat back next to him, still carrying her doubtful look.

"I want to throw you off the balcony…" Asuka yawned. "...But it's too early, so you live for now." Shinji shook his head and smirked, continuing to stare onwards. It also had been two weeks since Asuka moved in with him and Misato. He was still getting used to having yet another person in the house beside a penguin and a purple-haired drunkard.

"So, care to share what happened?" asked Asuka. "In the dream?" Shinji winced at the question, reluctant to share the strange dream. He then sighed and began to explain what happened: The sky, the endless ocean, the two petrified, motionless Eva's. As he was about to mention the trashed entry and Touji's jersey, Shinji caught Asuka sleeping soundly. She must have fallen asleep either out of boredom or exhaustion. The sight of her sleeping next to him reminded him of the night before he and Asuka's fight, the night she somehow 'sleepwalked' her way next to him as he slept. He still remembered the adrenaline rush of panic he got upon opening his eyes to Asuka, and he especially remembered the weird compulsion to lean in closer to her and kiss her and what she said in her sleep. _'Mama…'_ her words echoed within his mind.

Shinji didn't take much thought into what they meant at the time. For some reason now, however, he felt the urge to find out why she said it. _'Who was Asuka's mother?'_ he thought to himself. He recalled the many times she would get calls from her back in Germany, but the way Asuka acted told him otherwise: the way she talked to her, the immediate look of disdain on her face after each call. He knew he couldn't just outright ask her after. After all, he, himself, wouldn't like it if someone asked about his father without warning.

As the minutes passed, he, too, felt tired. He yawned loudly and grabbed two of the extra blankets they kept outside. He carefully draped one of the blankets over Asuka, hoping that she wouldn't wake up and throw him off the balcony. He then bundled up in the other blanket and began to doze off into a peaceful dream. All while the ever-active city of Tokyo-03 kept chugging along.

* * *

Shinji and Asuka were abruptly woken up a few hours later by the sounds of cicadas and the beating light of the sun. Both of the pilots slowly opened their eyes and turned to each other. The two immediately leaned away from one another out of shock.

"[THAT'S IT, IDIOT, COME HERE!]" barked Asuka in her mother's tongue as she reached for Shinji's collar. Before Asuka could finish what she started earlier that day, the sounds of muffled chuckling from a familiar purple-haired woman. The two looked over to the entrance of the balcony. Their guardian and commanding officer, Misato Katsuragi, was standing there with one hand over her mouth, trying not to laugh.

"Um… How long have you been standing there?" asked Shinji.

"Long enough to see you almost fly off the building… Now quit fighting and get ready for school. I'm starving here." she answered.

Both obeyed her and got up, not before Asuka gave Shinji a quick smack across the head. Shinji quickly made breakfast for the four of them, counting their penguin Pen-Pen, and gave them all their bento wrapped lunches. The door buzzer rang a little after the two finished getting ready. Shinji opened the door. As expected, it was his close friend, Kensuke Aida. Before Shinji could even greet his friend, however, Kensuke peered his head out from the door and greeted Misato enthusiastically, Prompting both Shinji and Asuka to roll their eyes. The two pilots shortly left after. Asuka went ahead of the two so she didn't have to deal with 'Idiot Shinji' and his 'Four-eyed stooge' friend.

As the two boys walked to school, Kensuke turned to Shinji. "Hey, did Touji say anything to you yesterday?" asked Kensuke. Shinji simply shook his head,

"No, why?" asked Shinji in response.

"Well, I went over to his place earlier, and no one was home." he elaborated. The dream from last night came back to him. A shiver of fear ran down his back, worried if the nightmare from last night was an indication for something. Kensuke took a quick note of Shinji's sudden anxious look.

"Something wrong, Ikari?" he asked, waving his hands in front of the distracted pilot. Shinji quickly snapped back into reality.

"O-oh no, I'm fine. Didn't get that much sleep last night, that's all," he replied nervously.

The two boys arrived at school not long after. They entered their classroom and sat down, waiting for school to begin. Much of the class was quite empty; many students started to transfer out due to the recent amount of Angel attacks. Who could blame them, really; the city turned into a full-on warzone. Only the most stubborn of people would even think of staying. Shinji examined the class loosely and noticed Rei Ayanami, a fellow pilot, and friend -- to an extent-- sitting in her usual spot, idly looking out the window.

Kensuke noticed what he was staring at. "Huh... looks like Ayanami decided to show up today. She beat Touji, that's a first" the classroom door slid open, revealing a familiar and an especially tired looking, jersey-wearing student. Shinji felt a small feeling of relief go over him as he saw Touji Suzuhara, standing in the doorway. The student sluggishly made his way over to Kensuke and Shinji and plopped down next to them and put his head on his desk.

The two boys looked at him with concerned eyes. Another student approached them. It was a girl, holding a collection of papers and a stern look on her face. It was the class representative: Hikari Horaki. She noticed Touji and looked at him with an annoyed and disappointed look on her face.

"Suzuhara!" she said. Touji turned his head.

"Jeez, can we not today, class rep?" Touji groaned. "I was at the hospital all night, remember?"

Kensuke raised his eyebrow. "Wait, what?" asked Kensuke.

The tired student gave Kensuke a confused look. "My sister was getting surgery on her knee done yesterday," said Touji. The two other boys shook their heads. "Didn't I already tell you guys to tell her?" he asked. Both Shinji and Kensuke shook their heads. 

"Heh, guess I should get better at doing that..." he said.

"Is she okay though, was the surgery...?" asked Hikari, worried.

"Oh yeah-yeah, she's fine, nothing went wrong," Touji said with a quick nod. "There's still a lot of work that's gotta be done on her, though-"

Before Touji could further elaborate, however, the school bell rang. All of the students scrambled into their seats and awaited the teachers' arrival. The school intercom abruptly clicked, making all of the students looked up to the speaker above the chalkboard.

"Can Aida Kensuke, Horaki Hikari, and Suzuhara Touji, please report to the principal's office with their belongings…" said the woman over the intercom. "...Again can Aida Kensuke, Horaki Hikari, and Suzuhara Touji, please report to the principal's office with their belongings. Thank you." said the women over the intercom.

The class immediately turned their heads to where the three students mentioned sat. Hikari gave the two boys an exasperated look.

"What did you two rope me into?!" barked the now angry class rep. Touji quickly rose from his seat, also wearing an aggravated look.

"Quit assuming stuff. We haven't done jack shit! As far as we're concerned, we should be the one asking you that question." barked back Touji as he and Kensuke gathered their stuff. As they left, Hikari and Touji continued their shouting match, while Kensuke gave an unamused look on his face.

The whole class-- save for Rei-- stared at the door, unsure of what to make of what they saw. "...And they call us newlyweds," Shinji said.

* * *

The three were now making their way to the principal's office. Touji and Hikari's shouting match was still raging on. However, the argument had devolved from the two fully shouting at each other to them quietly shouting at each other. Their fighting died down as soon as they arrived at the principal's office. They entered the somewhat spacious office. Touji, Hikari, and Kensuke all bowed and introduced themselves in a formal tone.

"Ah, you must be them," the three students looked up to see an attractive, blond young woman wearing dark-tinted sunglasses sitting across from them. "If you don't mind, Mr. Takao, I would like to speak with them privately." The bald principal nodded and exited the room, leaving the three students with the mysterious woman. She motioned for them to take a seat.

"Please take a seat, you three. We have much to discuss." said the woman, clipboard in hand.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N:  
> I originally wasn't going to post this up on Ao3 since it's already on FF.NET and Wattpad. But I figured why not see how Ao3 is, since I don't know much about it. Chapters will come out within every 2-3 months of each other, or at least I'm going to try and have them come out every 2-3 months. This chapter and Chapter two will be releasing side-by-side. However, after that, it's going to be irregular.
> 
> As of writing this, I'm writing Chapter 3's second draft. I'm aiming for a release later this month, but it could end up being released sometime in January.
> 
> Coming Up:   
> Neon Genesis Evangelion: Dreams & Premonitions: Chapter 2: Four, Five, Six, Seven.


	2. Four, Five, Six, Seven

Chapter 2: Four, Five, Six, Seven

* * *

_Several days after the Seventh Angels defeat_

Deep underneath the city of Neo-Tokyo-03 resided the expansive Geofront. Bathing in all of its man-made beauty. In its center laid Special Agency NERV's main headquarters. Its black pyramid shape and the body of water adjacent to it, making it easily recognizable, sticking out like a sore thumb.

Towards the top of the large facility was the Supreme Commander Gendo Ikari's office. The man himself sat at his desk, examining reports and documents made by the many departments of NERV. Sitting next to him was his former university professor and current Sub-Commander of NERV, Kozo Fuyutsuki, quietly reading the daily paper. The late afternoon colors illuminated the otherwise dark, tomb-like office.

The phone at the Commander's desk started to ring. Gendo swiftly answered, "What is it?" he asked. "...Could you elaborate, Lieutenant? What do you mean by the Second Branch has… vanished?" Despite the alarming news, Gendo didn't sound the least bit concerned. Fuyutsuki, on the other hand, looked up from his newspaper, confused.

"Have the investigations department take top priority on this; I expect a full report from them within the next 48-hours," Gendo said, returning the phone to its receiver and continuing his original task.

Fuyutsuki eye-balled the Commander, "Ikari… how are you going to explain this to the old men?" he asked.

"It's likely they already know. We will not need to uphold any details from them. This time," said Gendo, his eyes still fixated on the papers in front of them.

* * *

Misato sighed, "So, what happened?" her voice full of dismay and her face particularly pale. She stood around a group of people, all hovering over the large observation screen embedded into the floor.

"You and everyone else here wishes they knew ma'am," said Lieutenant Makoto Hyuga, "Administration, the Investigations department, and General affairs are all in a total panic…. Hell, even the MAGI is having a hard time figuring it out."

"Well, do we at least have a hint? There has to be something that could give us a clue," said Misato.

Dr. Akagi, head scientist of NERV, shook her head. "All we have to go off of is some geosynchronous footage taken during the incident… Everything else is gone," she said. The beeps of her PDA could be heard as she pulled the footage up onto the screen.

The blank screen the group orbited now showed a still frame of a large crater in the Nevada desert. Ritsuko then rewound the footage. In place of the cavity were many strewn together buildings that made up NERV's Second Branch. Nothing seemed to show any indication of what went wrong. The footage began to play, a small counter appearing on the bottom-right of the screen. Feelings of anticipation grew within each group member as Lieutenant Maya Ibuki counted down with it.

"...Three ...Two ...One ...Contact!" said the Lieutenant.

A large wave of dust was seen flying away from the center of the area, accompanied by a prolonged, thunderous boom. Red began to envelop the screen, only becoming brighter as the footage continued playing.

Then with a loud and sudden crash, static-filled the once red screen, ceasing any further examination of the footage. "This is… horrible," commented Misato, her voice sounding grimmer.

"Everything within an 89-kilometer radius completely vanished, including all 6,908 staff and personnel," said Maya.

"Examining the timetable, It would seem at the time of the incident they were testing the restored S2 engine from Berlin, which was planned to be installed in Evangelion Unit-04 upon its arrival." said one of the other Lieutenants, Shigeru Aoba, looking down at his clipboard.

"A list of possible causes range from oversights during the restoration process to a mistake during shipping," Maya said. "That brings the total up to 39, 768 possibilities."

"It's not like the Third Branch to make a mistake like that. We'll need to rule in sabotage as well," commented Misato.

"But there wasn't an explosion, though. Everything just vanished, right?" asked Makoto.

Misato turned to Ritsuko, "If that's the case, then does that mean the S2 engine is…?"

Ritsuko sighed deeply. "Gone, along with our dreams," she cooly replied.

"Hmph, guess that's what we get for messing around with something we don't understand." said Misato, with the ghost of a chuckle, "...What about Unit-04, don't tell me it vanished too?"

"Fortunately, no, it was still being prepped for transport in Boston when everything took place," said Ritsuko.

The captain blew out a sigh of relief, "Phew. Would've been a disaster if we lost it." she said, "...Not that they were going to do anything with it in the first place."

Ritsuko didn't respond. She instead stared intently at the clipboard in her hands.

* * *

"...going to do with their Eva's now?" asked the drowned-out voice of Misato.

Ritsuko perked up upon hearing the incomplete sentence. Hmm? What was that?" she asked apologetically, massaging her head. The day had been busy as usual for her. She was now on her way to NERV HQ's cafeteria for a much-needed lunch break, Misato accompanying her. Despite how much she'd like to skip lunch and work, Ritsuko knew it wasn't wise to skip meals.

"I asked what is the First Branch going to do with their Eva's?" repeated Misato, "They don't have anything exactly planned for them, now that that S2 engine is gone."

"They'll be sending all three here," replied Ritsuko as she and Misato unloaded from the elevator. "It seems the U.S government doesn't want to risk losing them or another branch."

" _Tch_ , talk about self-serving assholes. First, they demand rights to not only Unit-03 but Unit's 04 and 05. And then they just push them onto us like it's our responsibility all of a sudden." said Misato, "If it weren't for Russia, I wouldn't have been this slightest bit surprised if they had tried to get the rights to Unit-06 too."

Ritsuko let out a small giggle. The two arrived at the cafeteria soon after. They sat at one of the many vacant benches and quietly began to eat their food. Misato unwrapped her lunch and wafted her hands around it, taking in the scent of Shinji's cooking.

"God… I don't know how he does it. There's no way a kid his age could make something that smells this good..." With a single bite, Misato felt as if she had entered food nirvana, "...and have it taste even better!" she said.

"It's good to see that your taste buds have finally woken up," said Ritsuko, 

"I'm still baffled you were able to live off some of the stuff you ate."

Misato rolled her eyes at the comment, "So~ are there going to be standard pilots?" she then asked, with a smirk, "Or will you be using that _dummy system_ everyone's been talking about~?"

Ritsuko jumped at the question, "Wh-who told you about that?!" she asked frantically.

The captain then snickered, wearing a snarky grin, "You ought to step back from your work from time to time and talk with your co-workers, y'know?" she said, "You'd be surprised at how much gets out."

"Tell me that when the Human race isn't at risk of being wiped out, okay?" said Ritsuko, carrying a stern tone of voice. She then sighed and smirked, realizing how pointless it was to make a fuss over it. "Well, to answer your question, I don't know. The dummy system still has a plethora of major issues with it that have yet to be ironed out. It's not exactly easy to try and create a fake pilot." She continued, "Not to mention, the Marduk Institute hasn't made a report yet…" She said, picking at her food.

"Everything's up in the air, then?" asked Misato.

Ritsuko sighed, "It would seem that way," she said, eye-balling the clipboard next to her tray of food.

* * *

Touji, Kensuke, and Hikari all looked at the scientist sitting across from them with shocked and confused looks.

Kensuke pulled Touji aside, "J-just so w-where c-clear here… did she just say that we've been s-selected to be… p-p-p-p..." he whispered, stammering, "p-pilots… like _Eva_ pilots, r-right?" he asked.

Touji nodded nervously, "Y-yeah, s-she did." he answered.

"Huh… A-Alright, w-was just making sure… i-if that's the case, then..." Kensuke took a deep breath and violently jumped out of his seat, "I ACCEPT, PLEASE W-WHERE DO I SIGN?!" he yelled, making everyone lean back in their chairs with startled looks.

Ritsuko hesitantly pushed a piece of paper in front of Kensuke and pointed out each place he needed to sign. The boy quickly skimmed through the document and signed it.

"I-I suppose that just leaves you two," said Ritsuko as Kensuke handed back the document.

Nervous looks were worn by both students. On paper, the decision was easy. Who exactly would want to risk their life and pilot one of those 80-meter tall death machines? However, the amount of pressure riding on the decision made things difficult, as well, Kensuke's over-excited attitude wasn't helping at all.

Touji frowned. Memories of his sister and her unfortunate accident during the fight against the third angel flooded his mind. Truthfully, Touji didn't hate the Evangelions; if anything, he was just indifferent towards them. The mere mention of them made his skin crawl, reminding him of the aftermath, seeing his bruised and bloodied sister under a pile of debris. Her hurt and raspy voice faintly calling his name reverberated in his head.

"No disrespect, doc. But I think I'm… I'm..." Touji's mind trailed off further, his sister's voice replaying...

* * *

Touji leaned back, his cheek having a bright red handmark on it. "Ah! Hey, what was the for-" he couldn't finish his sentence. His younger sister, Sakura Suzuhara, sporting a particularly furious look, slapped him once more.

"For punching that pilot! He's saved our lives twice now, and you treat him like that?!" she asked, "Didn't Mommy ever tell you to treat people with respect?"

Touji opened his mouth, attempting to answer. However, her point was a true one. All he could do at that moment was sit in his chair in defeat while being lectured by her.

"We'd be all dead if he didn't kill that monster!" said the little girl, angrily. " _If anything, you should've socked that monster in the face, not him…_ "

* * *

Sakura's words stayed firmly with Touji. With good reason. She was right, after all. It wasn't the Eva that exploded that night. He contemplated some more, took a deep, long breath, and looked towards Ritsuko.

"Y'know what, ignore what I was gonna say earlier. I'll do it, I'll pilot one of those robots you got," said Touji, a fiery look of confidence in his eyes, "On one condition."

The scientist grabbed the pen and clipboard next to her, "And what might that be? NERV will surely take care of it, given it's reasonable." she said.

"I'm not asking for much. Can you put my sister, Sakura, in one of those fancy hospital's you got in the Geofront, would ya? Make sure she gets the best care possible." he said, "Now, where do I gotta sign?"

As Touji was being shown where to sign, Hikari and Kensuke looked at his friend, stunned by his sudden decision.

"Suzuhara, a-are you sure about this…?" asked Hikari.

"Yeah, I thought you said you weren't going anywhere near one of those things?" commented Kensuke, his excitement fueled high now dissipated.

Touji handed the document back, having read and signed it. "I'm dead serious about this. She deserves it after all she's been through. And if I gotta fight in one of those things so she can get what she deserves, I'm fine with it," he replied, the determination in his eyes remaining.

"Very well…" said Ritsuko. "It would seem you're last, Ms. Horaki."

Hikari's anxiety heightened as the scientist shifted her focus to the class representative. With Kensuke's overjoyed attitude and Touji's bold look. It gave her a pounding headache trying to come up with an answer.

She was startled by a sudden tap on her shoulder. She turned and saw Touji and Kensuke, both with concerned looks on their faces. It seemed that she had made it a little too obvious that she was having a difficult time.

"You alright there, Class rep?" asked Touji, "You ain't looking so good."

The girl gave a quick nod and nervous smile, "Oh y-yes! I'm fine," she said, her cheeks turning into a blushing bright pink. "J-just having a little trouble deciding that's all," she continued, "There's just so much pressure, I have no idea whether to say yes or no anymore."

"Well, if that's the case, then what does your gut say?" Touji then asked.

Hikari shot a confused look at him, "My... what?" she asked.

"Y'know, your gut, the inside of you." he said, "Whenever I'm in a pinch and can't decide or figure out something, I calm down and hear it out… So, what's your gut telling you right now?"

The class representative, out of any other options, did what Touji had instructed. She closed her eyes and began to calm herself down, ignoring any distractions, and 'heard her gut out.'

After a few moments, she opened her eyes back up and looked at the woman sitting across from her.

Asuka collapsed face-first onto the living room couch, letting out a muffled groan as her face sunk into the cushions.

"Gott… this damn heat… why does Japan have to be so hot?" she asked while trying to mend her headache.

Once again, the day had proven to be dull and uneventful for her. Despite the last day of school only being a few days away, it didn't stop it from being just as tedious as the previous ones. She would have gotten home much sooner if it weren't for Hikari's sudden disappearance. With her gone, the entire cleanup portion of the day took longer than it should have. It had gotten so disorganized to the point she couldn't take it any longer and left, leaving her task unfinished.

Asuka shuffled over to the end table next to the couch and checked the time. It was 14:32. The whole apartment felt like it was missing something.

It then clicked in her mind. _'Shouldn't Shinji be here by now?'_ she thought, noticing Shinji's absence. _'That explains why it's so quiet. Jeez, first: Hikari and the Two Stooges get called to the principals and don't come back. And now the idiot's gone as well.'_

She turned her attention to the direction of the landline phone near the entrance, slowly got up, and approached it, _'Should I call him…?'_ she asked herself as she continued to stare at the phone. Before Asuka could even pick up the phone, however, the front door hissed open.

"I'm home!" hollered Shinji.

Asuka peered her head out, "Where the hell have you been?!" she asked, 

"Wait no, let me guess… you and wonder girl were having one of your guys' silent, one-sided, philosophical conversations again, weren't you?" she asked, sarcastically.

"Oh… n-no, not this time," he replied, embarrassed. "It's just Tama and, I needed to deliver everyone's clean up schedules for the week since Kensuke and Touji were both out…" Shinji said, placing his things down. 

"...Speaking of which, have you heard from Horaki lately?"

" _Pfft_ , nope," replied Asuka, "Not a thing, haven't talked to her since this morning."

"Really? Not even a call?" he asked.

"What part of haven't-talked-to-her-since-this-morning did you not understand?!" she yelled, with a threatening glare.

"S-sorry!" he said, quickly raising his hands defensively.

Asuka rolled her eyes, her anger subsiding. Shinji sighed in relief, having dodged yet another beatdown by the short-tempered redhead for the second time today.

"...I-I guess that makes both of us though," Shinji said, "Neither Kensuke nor Touji have called me back at all."

"

 _Tch_ , even the Stooges aren't talking." Asuka said, "Just what in the hell did the principal want from them in the first place? I swear if one of them roped Hikari into something…" she said, clenching her fist tight.

The phone started ringing. Shinji quickly answered, " _Katsuragi Residence_ … Ah, Horaki," he said. Asuka's head perked up upon hearing her friend's name. "...Um, sure… here," he said, holding the phone out to Asuka.

She quickly snatched it from Shinji's hand, "Hikari! Where were you today? Did something happen at the principal's office?" asked Asuka with a flurry of questions.

"H-Hi, Asuka," nervously replied Hikari. "C-Could you maybe come by my place… like right now?" she asked, "It's um… important. Veryimportant."

Asuka raised an eyebrow, "What, why? Don't tell me that thing happened to Nozomi again?" she asked.

"N-No, nothing like that, this time at least…" she said, "...It's about this morning."

"Oh, well, why can't we just talk about it over the phone, then?" she asked.

"I-I can't. The call will get cut off before I can," said Hikari.

"What? What do you mean it'll get _cut_?" she asked.

Hikari sighed in frustration. " _Please!_ can you just come over? It'll be quick, I swear!" Hikari pleaded.

Asuka let out a reluctant sigh at Hikari's vague request. " _Fine,_ whatever… I'll be there as soon as I can, but you better tell me everything, _everything_ …" she said, aggravated.

"T-thank you… I'll see you soon, bye!" the class representative said, sounding more upbeat. Asuka then hung up the phone and grabbed her shoes.

"Did she say anything?" asked Shinji.

"No, of course not," Asuka said. "She just kept asking me to come to her place and was being all cryptic," she said as she put her shoes on.

"Hmm, weird… Any idea why?" He asked.

"How should I know? It's not like I haven't seen her all day!" she said.

"Ah, sorry!" he said as Asuka turned her inflamed attitude towards him.

"Whatever… I should be back in an hour-or-so. If dinner isn't ready by then, I'm gonna finish what I started this morning… And I'm not kidding-" said Asuka, the door cutting her off.

A feeling of relief and peace overcame Shinji as his redhead roommate left. _'Well… suppose I should get dinner started now…'_ he thought, his spine-shivering at the thought of becoming one with the pavement below.

He entered the kitchen, donning his trusty apron. Just as he was beginning to prepare dinner, the phone, once again, began to ring.

Shinji walked over and picked up the phone. "Hello?" he asked.

* * *

What have you found, doctor?" asked Gendo, sitting at his desk.

"There was not much for us to go off of," said Ritsuko, standing across the Commander. "But, after analyzing what we have, we've come to a hypothesis." she continued. "We believe that the incident was caused by a malfunction involving the restored S2 engine delivered from Berlin, possibly during some sort of test," she said.

"...I suppose your hypothesis will have to do for now, what with the little information we have. Good work, doctor." he said, "What of the pilots? Have they been selected and readied?" he asked.

"Yes, sir, four children have been chosen and will be readied accordingly, including the fifth child." she said, "As for the other children. The sixth and seventh both accepted without any requests. The fourth, however, would agree only on the condition that his younger sister is relocated to the Geofront hospital.

"I don't see an issue with the request. Make sure that it is handled immediately," said Gendo, "And what of the fifth child? Given what the report says, he was found in Moscow, correct? When should we expect _their_ arrival?" he asked.

"It will take some time before they are transferred here. Unit-06 is reportedly still under construction. We can expect them sometime in the coming months," she replied.

"Mhm… Very well. I've delegated the transportation of the U.S units to the U.N; they should all arrive by the end of next week. I leave rest up to you." he said.

"Yes, sir, a plan is already being outlined in preparation for their arrival. It should be ready within the next 24-hours," she said.

"I look forward to it… if that is all, you are dismissed, doctor," said Gendo.

Ritsuko bowed, "Yes sir," she said. She then turned and made her way to the door.

"...one more thing, Akagi…" the Commander said unexpectedly, causing Ritsuko to stop dead in her tracks.

"Yes, Commander?" she asked.

"Have Rei's quarterly scans been completed?" he asked.

A sudden aggravated feeling took hold of Ritsuko upon hearing the first child's name, "Yes sir, they were completed yesterday," she said, a tinge of annoyance leaking through her voice.

"Excellent work. You may leave now," the Commander said.

She bowed once again and resumed making her way to the office door. As she walked out of the office, a discontent look on her face grew.

* * *

"You two didn't need to come, y'know?" said Touji's father, Hiroshi Suzuhara, stopping at a traffic light, turning to his son sitting in the backseat, "I'm the one who got clearance for this in the first place."

"It wouldn't sit right with me If I wasn't there. Besides, I'm the one who accepted this whole thing in the first place, aren't I?" asked Touji, looking out the car window, "Say? How much longer do we have 'till we get there?"

"Hmm… I'd say a few more minutes," Hiroshi said. "Just sit tight. We'll be there soon."

"You're just as anxious as we are, huh?" asked Hiroshi's father, Chiziwa Suzuhara, sitting in the front passenger seat.

"You have no idea," replied Touji, continuing to look out the car window.

The three chuckled for a second before the traffic light turned green. Everyone turned silent as Hiroshi resumed driving, all feeling an overbearing sense of nervousness.

* * *

"WHAT?!" yelled Asuka, sitting across from Hikari.

The class representative leaned back from the redhead, covering her ears, "I-I agreed to be an Eva p-pilot." she said, dismally.

Asuka was taken aback by what she had just heard, "I-I don't get it… I-I just don't get it." she said, "I know why four-eyes agreed, and I can understand the gorilla's reason, but why you? I know you like him and all but that doesn't mean you should start listening to that idiot's advice. You're smarter than that!"

"I-It wasn't just his advice that convinced me!" said Hikari, defensively.

"Oh yeah… Then _what_ did convince you?" Asuka rebutted.

"I… I… You see, my older sister has been stressed lately. She's going from work to school, then straight back to work. Not to mention her exams for the semester are coming up, so she's having to study a lot…" she explained, "and, since we're supposedly getting paid monthly, I..."

"You accepted- what is arguably one of the most, if not _the_ most dangerous job in the world- so your sister could focus on school?" asked Asuka, her arms crossed.

"Yes, exactly!" replied Hikari.

Asuka shook her head and pinched the bridge of her nose, "I still don't understand…" she said "...But I guess it can't be helped anymore. So tell me, what happened after the meeting?" she asked.

"Well, after the interview, they took us to NERV and gave us a tour around the facility, and then they briefed us on everything we needed to know… and that was about it," she said.

"That's it? Just a stupid tour and briefing?" asked Asuka, "...Whatever, what did they go over in the briefing?"

"They just went over what our designations were and what Eva's we would be piloting," said Hikari. "I've been designated as the seventh child and have been assigned to Unit-05." she said, "If I remember correctly, Suzuhara is the fourth and is piloting Unit-03, and if I'm correct, Aida is the sixth and is piloting Unit-04."

Asuka shot a puzzled look at Hikari, "Woah-Woah-Woah… Hold on. Shouldn't Four-eyes be the _fifth child_ ? Are you sure that they said he was the sixth and not the _fifth_?" she asked.

"Yes," she said with a nod.

"It takes months- no _years!_ \- to find just one pilot." said Asuka, "For them to find four in a single week is… beyond the word lucky. They didn't tell you who they were in the briefing, by chance?" she asked.

"No, I don't remember a single thing involving them from the briefing," she said.

Asuka sighed, "Of course not, why would they?" she asked, sarcastically, "Well, whoever they are, they better be competent enough to compete with me." she said, "...So, did they discuss when the activation tests were?"

"Activation tests? ….Oh!" Hikari quickly turned and grabbed the NERV handbook sitting next to her, and pulled out a piece of pink, laminated paper. "They're having all three on May 23rd at 15:30, a little bit after the Eva's are set to arrive from the U.S.," she said.

"All three at once?!" she asked, "I thought the activation of an Evangelion was a "delicate process." so what's with the rush? Gah! What the hell's going on?! This day has left me with nothing but questions upon questions!" she said.

Asuka massaged her head in an attempt to calm her mind, "So… who else besides me knows?" she asked.

"No one besides you and Kodama. If I told anyone else, who knows how much trouble I'd be in? I'm likely already in trouble as is, after telling you."

" _Hmph,_ you're probably right. I wouldn't doubt that Section-Two is spying on us as we speak," said Asuka. "No one at NERV has a sense of privacy," she continued, "...So, was that it… or was there anything else that I'm not allowed to know about?" she asked, sarcastically.

Hikari chuckled and shook her head, "No, that was pretty much it," she said, "Though, something weird did happen."

"Like what?" asked Asuka.

Hikari shrugged. "Suzuhara left suddenly, while we were in the briefing, two men in suits came in and took him. He didn't say anything, but it seemed pretty important," she said, garnering even more confusion from the redhead sitting across from her.

"But what could be more important than that?" she asked.

* * *

Touji walked down the hospital hallway, his Father, Grandfather, and two Section-Two details behind him. All three men were beyond nervous. This was no easy matter to attend to. After what felt like an eternity of walking, the trio arrived outside the door of a small hospital room. Hiroshi looked at the two agents, who nodded and waited beside the door. He then lightly knocked on the door.

"Come in!" yelled the person from the other side.

Slowly, the three entered the room and were greeted by an excited Sakura Suzuhara, watching TV in her hospital bed. "Touji! Daddy!… and Grandpa? What are you two doing here? I thought only Touji was coming?" she asked.

"What? Am I not allowed to see my one and only granddaughter?" jokingly asked Chiziwa as he pulled up a chair.

Sakura laughed at her grandfather's joke, bringing a warming feeling into his old heart. All three sat down beside Sakura.

The room had a cold feel to it. Japan may have been in a period of eternal summer, but this felt _too_ cold. There was also a strong smell of disinfectant that stung their noses and made them all feel light in the head. Not to mention, the room itself was small. Despite the conditions, Sakura seemed to make the most of it, the place being decorated according to her requests. Many of her drawings were lined up on the wall; a few crafts she had made were placed around the room, giving it a homey feel to it.

Sakura's excitement quickly turned sour, noticing their less-than chipper faces. "All right… Is something wrong? Are they putting me in another room?! But I just moved into this one last week." said Sakura, with a pouty face.

Hiroshi snickered, "Don't worry, sweetheart. Nobodies putting you in a new room… at least not yet." he said.

"Then What's wrong? Why do you look so sad…? Did something bad happen?" she asked, concerned.

"Oh no, don't worry, nothing bad has happened," replied Touji, "But… we've got some good news, and some… not so good news for ya," he said, struggling to say the last part. "The good news is that well… you're being transferred to the hospital in the Geofront next week, y'know the one Dad talked about once?"

"Wait, what? But why? I thought you said it was too expensive? Did that Mr. Commander Ikari guy give you that raise you wanted, Daddy?" she asked.

Hiroshi let out a humorless chuckle, "Nope, as much as I'd like one, I don't think they'll ever give me one, the bastards…" Hiroshi sighed, "Y' see sweetheart, the reason for the good news is because of the not so good news." he said, turning to Touji.

"What do you mean?" asked Sakura, tilting her head.

"I… Ya know my pal Shinji right? The one who pilots that robot?" he asked.

"The one you punched for no reason? Yeah, I know him," she replied, unintentionally jabbing at him.

"Well, it turns out… I'm gonna… gonna… be, well-"

"Gah! What are you trying to say? Just spit out!" Sakura said.

Touji sighed and turned to both his father and grandfather. Both men nodded, wearing anxious yet reassuring faces. "I-I'm gonna be… a p-pilot like he is," he said.

Sakura at first raised her eyebrow in confusion, unsure of what he meant. As her mind processed what he had said, her eyes grew wider, her mouth dropped low. The room became so quiet you could hear a pin drop. The only audible sounds were the rhythmic beeping of the heart monitor and the faint clicking of wheels on a gurney. Sakura suddenly embraced her brother tightly.

"Touji?" his sister asked, her voice cracking, tears streaming down her eyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N:  
> Like I said before, Chapter 3 is being worked on now and will hopefully be out later this month, if not sometime in January. I hope you enjoyed this and the previous chapter if you have even gotten this far yet.
> 
> I'd like to thank my Beta-reader Glory-To-Our-August-King(Glor) for helping me out. He's a great fic writer and I fully recommend you check out his work. Especially his most current one Amarantos.
> 
> Coming Up:   
> Neon Genesis Evangelion: Dreams & Premonitions: Chapter 3: From Tangshan to Beijing.


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